Methods of deposition of thick environmental barrier coatings on CMC blade tips

ABSTRACT

Methods for tape deposition of a sacrificial coating on a CMC substrate are provided. The method comprises: applying a matrix material onto a surface of a film; drying the matrix material to remove the solvent; and transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the CMC substrate. The matrix material comprises a mixture of a rare earth silicate powder, a sintering aid, and a solvent.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

The present application claims priority to as a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/669,485 filed on Mar. 26, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines turbines. More specifically, embodiments of the invention generally relate to thick environmental barrier coatings on CMC blade tips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The turbine section of a gas turbine engine contains a rotor shaft and one or more turbine stages, each having a turbine disk (or rotor) mounted or otherwise carried by the shaft and turbine blades mounted to and radially extending from the periphery of the disk. A turbine assembly typically generates rotating shaft power by expanding hot compressed gas produced by combustion of a fuel. Gas turbine buckets or blades generally have an airfoil shape designed to convert the thermal and kinetic energy of the flow path gases into mechanical rotation of the rotor.

Turbine performance and efficiency may be enhanced by reducing the space between the tip of the rotating blade and the stationary shroud to limit the flow of air over or around the top of the blade that would otherwise bypass the blade. For example, a blade may be configured so that its tip fits close to the shroud during engine operation. Thus, generating and maintaining an efficient tip clearance is particularly desired for efficiency purposes.

Although turbine blades may be made of a number of superalloys (e.g., nickel-based superalloys), ceramic matrix composites (CMCs)) are an attractive alternative to nickel-based superalloys for turbine applications because of their high temperature capability and light weight. However, CMC components must be protected with an environmental barrier coating (EBC) in turbine engine environments to avoid severe oxidation and recession in the presence of high temperature steam.

Thus, in certain components, regions of the EBC may be susceptible to wear due to rub events with adjacent components. For example, for the CMC blade, the EBC at the blade tip is susceptible to rub against metal shroud components. If the EBC coating wears away, the CMC blade is then open to recessive attack from high temperature steam that will open up the clearance between the CMC blade tip and the metal shroud, thereby reducing the efficiency of the engine.

Thus, it is desirable in the art to provide materials and methods for reducing EBC wear on a CMC blade tip caused by a rub event during operation of a turbine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

Coating systems are generally provided for use on a CMC substrate. In one embodiment, the coating system comprises: a bond coat on a surface of the CMC substrate; a first rare earth silicate coating on the bond coat; a sacrificial coating of a reinforced rare earth silicate matrix on the at least one rare earth silicate layer; a second rare earth silicate coating on the sacrificial coating; and an outer layer on the second rare earth silicate coating. The first rare earth silicate coating comprises at least one rare earth silicate layer, and the second rare earth silicate coating comprises at least one rare earth silicate layer. The sacrificial coating has a thickness of about 4 mils to about 40 mils.

Blades are also generally provided, such as a turbine blade or a stator vane. In one embodiment, the blade comprises: an airfoil comprising a CMC substrate and defining a blade tip having the coating system described above.

Methods are also generally provided for tape deposition of a sacrificial coating on a CMC substrate. In one embodiment, the method comprises: applying a matrix material onto a surface of a film; drying the matrix material to remove the solvent; and transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the CMC substrate. The matrix material generally comprises a mixture of a rare earth silicate powder, a sintering aid, and a solvent.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding part of the specification. The invention, however, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically representing an exemplary turbine blade of a type formed of CMC materials;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary coating system positioned on a blade tip of a turbine blade; and

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the exemplary coating system of FIG. 2 at the blade tip.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

In the present disclosure, when a layer is being described as “on” or “over” another layer or substrate, it is to be understood that the layers can either be directly contacting each other or have another layer or feature between the layers, unless expressly stated to the contrary. Thus, these terms are simply describing the relative position of the layers to each other and do not necessarily mean “on top of” since the relative position above or below depends upon the orientation of the device to the viewer.

Chemical elements are discussed in the present disclosure using their common chemical abbreviation, such as commonly found on a periodic table of elements. For example, hydrogen is represented by its common chemical abbreviation H; helium is represented by its common chemical abbreviation He; and so forth. “Ln” refers to the rare earth elements of scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), or mixtures thereof. In particular embodiments, Ln is selected from the group consisting of neodymium, gadolinium, erbium, yttrium, and mixtures thereof.

A coating for a CMC blade tip is generally provided herein, along with its methods of formation. The coating for the CMC blade tip is relatively thick, dense, and mechanically resistant to spall and rub in turbine engine environments. The coating is deposited via attaching a tape filled with ceramic particles, sintering aids, organic binders, and plasticizers.

The thick, tape-deposited sacrificial coating is generally provided in combination with a plurality of other, thinner layers to form an EBC on a CMC substrate. When applied to a blade tip, the sacrificial coating provides thickness that can rub away upon contact of the blade tip with a shroud. Thus, the sacrifice of this sacrificial coating during rub events serves to protect the underlying layers of the EBC, such as a relatively thin underlayer of bond coat that in turn protects the CMC from oxidation and/or a relatively thin underlayer of rare earth disilicate that in turn protects the CMC from high temperature steam penetration. It should also be noted that the sacrificial coating itself, may also provide some protection against high temperature steam penetration.

In general, this overall coating system can be described as follows: a bond coat; one or more dense rare earth silicate layer(s); a thick layer (at least about 8 mils and preferably at least about 15 mils) of rare earth disilicate matrix mixed with a discontinuous phase of barium strontium aluminosilicate (BSAS) or silicon metal particles (referred to herein as a “reinforced rare earth disilicate matrix”); and the option of one or more rare earth silicate outer layer(s). Each of these layers is described in greater detail below with respect to particular embodiments provided herein.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary turbine blade 10 of a gas turbine engine. The blade 10 is generally represented as being adapted for mounting to a disk or rotor (not shown) within the turbine section of an aircraft gas turbine engine. For this reason, the blade 10 is represented as including a dovetail 12 for anchoring the blade 10 to a turbine disk by interlocking with a complementary dovetail slot formed in the circumference of the disk. As represented in FIG. 1, the interlocking features comprise protrusions referred to as tangs 14 that engage recesses defined by the dovetail slot. The blade 10 is further shown as having a platform 16 that separates an airfoil 18 from a shank 15 on which the dovetail 12 is defined.

The blade 10 includes a blade tip 19 disposed opposite the platform 16. As such, the blade tip 19 generally defines the radially outermost portion of the blade 10 and, thus, may be configured to be positioned adjacent to a stationary shroud (not shown) of the gas turbine engine. As stated above, during use, the blade tip 19 may contact the shroud, causing a rub event between the blade tip 19 and the shroud.

In one particular embodiment, the blade tip 19 may be further equipped with a blade tip shroud (not shown) which, in combination with tip shrouds of adjacent blades within the same stage, defines a band around the blades that is capable of reducing blade vibrations and improving airflow characteristics. By incorporating a seal tooth, blade tip shrouds are further capable of increasing the efficiency of the turbine by reducing combustion gas leakage between the blade tips and a shroud surrounding the blade tips.

Because they are directly subjected to hot combustion gases during operation of the engine, the airfoil 18, platform 16 and blade tip 19 have very demanding material requirements. The platform 16 and blade tip 19 are further critical regions of a turbine blade in that they create the inner and outer flowpath surfaces for the hot gas path within the turbine section. In addition, the platform 16 creates a seal to prevent mixing of the hot combustion gases with lower temperature gases to which the shank 20, its dovetail 12 and the turbine disk are exposed, and the blade tip 19 is subjected to creep due to high strain loads and wear interactions between it and the shroud surrounding the blade tips 19. The dovetail 12 is also a critical region in that it is subjected to wear and high loads resulting from its engagement with a dovetail slot and the high centrifugal loading generated by the blade 10.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a coating system is 20 is shown forming a thick EBC 22 on a CMC substrate 24 that defines the blade tip 19. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a bond coat 26 is positioned on the surface 25 of the CMC substrate 24. A first rare earth silicate coating 28 a is on the bond coat 26 and is formed from at least one rare earth silicate layer. A sacrificial coating 30 of a reinforced rare earth disilicate matrix is positioned on the at least one rare earth silicate layer 28 a. The sacrificial coating 30 has a thickness of about 4 mils to about 40 mils (e.g., about 8 mils to about 25 mils, such as about 16 mils to about 24 mils). A second rare earth silicate coating 28 b is on the sacrificial coating 30 and is formed from at least one rare earth silicate layer. As such, a rare earth silicate coating (collectively 28 a, 28 b) surrounds the sacrificial coating 30 at the blade tip 19, as discussed in greater detail below. Finally, an outer layer 32 is positioned on the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b. Each of these layers is discussed in greater detail below.

As stated, the bond coat 26 is positioned in the CMC substrate 24, and in most embodiments is in direct contact with the CMC surface 25. The bond coating generally provides oxidation protection to the underlying CMC material 24. In one particular embodiment, the bond coat 26 is a silicon bond coat.

The first rare earth silicate coating 28 a generally provides hermeticity against high temperature steam. In one embodiment, the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a is formed from at least one layer of a slurry-deposited yttrium ytterbium disilicate (YbYDS) layer. Other silicate layers can be present in the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a in order to provide hermeticity against high temperature steam, such as YbDS, LuDS, TmDS, LuYDS, TmYDS, etc. (where Lu=Lutetium and Tm=Thulium), although any rare earth disilicate can be utilized.

The sacrificial coating 30 of a reinforced rare earth silicate matrix is generally formed by tape-depositing at least one BSAS-reinforced rare earth silicate layer to the desired thickness, such as about 4 mils to about 40 mils (e.g., about 8 mils to about 25 mils, such as about 16 mils to about 24 mils). Multiple layers may be utilized to form the sacrificial coating 30 of the desired thickness. The sacrificial coating 30 generally provides thickness to the EBC 22 that can be sacrificed in a rub event by the blade tip 19 with another component in the engine (e.g., a vane). The rare earth silicate layers described with respect to the sacrificial coating 30 may be comprised of rare earth disilicates (e.g., YbYDS), rare earth monosilicates, or mixtures thereof.

The sacrificial coating 30 is deposited via a thick tape-deposition and sintering process, since it is very difficult to build up a thick coating on the tip of a blade by a thermal spray technique (since edge effects lead to spallation) or by slurry deposition processes (since it would require multiple applications and heat treatments to build appreciable thickness). According to the thick tape-deposition method, the tape is loaded with the matrix material, such as the matrix material similar to that currently used for slurry deposition of rare-earth disilicates. In this embodiment, a mixture of rare earth disilicate powder and sintering aids that promote coating densification at temperatures of about 2300° F. to about 2500° F. (compared to about 2800° F. in the absence of the sintering aids) is utilized. In this method, however, a plurality of coarse particles (e.g., BSAS particles, silicon particles, or a mixture thereof) are also included in the tape so that they are at a level of about 30% to about 65% by volume of the ceramic material, with the balance being the fine rare earth silicate powder and sintering aid. The coarse particles have, in one embodiment, an average particle size of about 5 microns to about 100 microns. The coarse particle addition helps overcome the problem of the slurry process such that one obtains a thick, crack free layer after heat treatment. The use of BSAS or silicon coarse particles, specifically, also helps keep the porosity in the layer low (on the order of about 20% by volume or less, and in some embodiments, as little as about 10% porosity or less). Other coarse particles, such as ZrO₂, can result in porosity levels above 20% by volume. The matrix material also contains organic binder (e.g., polyvinyl butyral) and plasticizer (e.g., dibutyl phthalate or dipropylene glycol dibenzoate) so that the tape is flexible and tacky for the attachment to the CMC blade tip surface. The tape is formed from slurry that comprises all of the constituents mentioned above, plus one or more solvents. The slurry can be cast under a doctor blade with a gap set to a controlled thickness, onto a film (e.g., a polymeric film). The solvent is then removed by drying, yielding the tape. In certain embodiments, the drying temperature is about 15° C. to about 50° C., and can be dried at room temperature (e.g., about 20° C. to about 25° C.). Drying can be accomplished for any suitable duration (e.g., about 30 minutes to about 50 hours). Thus, another advantage of the tape approach is that there is no drying process after the tape is attached to the blade tip that result in drying defects that alter the geometry of the thick tip.

The tapes can be transferred to the CMC substrate by any suitable method. For example, the tape can be transferred to the CMC substrate through applying pressure in combination with the tack of the tape or through applying pressure in combination with an elevated temperature, to get the tape to flow a bit into the roughness of the blade tip surface, and the tack of the tape. In either of these methods, the additional application of a solvent to the tape surface can increase its tack. In one particular embodiment, these methods can be utilized with the addition of slurry, such as rare earth disilicate and sintering aids but without the BSAS particles. The addition of the slurry tends to create a robust bond during sintering.

Multiple tape transfers can be performed, in particular embodiments, to build the resulting sacrificial coating 30 to the desired thickness.

The second rare earth silicate coating 28 b also provides hermeticity against high temperature steam. In one embodiment, the second rare earth silicate coating 2 b is formed from at least one layer of a slurry-deposited yttrium ytterbium disilicate (YbYDS) layer. Other silicate layers can be present in the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b, similar to those described above with respect to the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a in order to provide hermeticity against high temperature steam.

In one particular embodiment, the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a and the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b are substantially identical in terms of composition. Referring to FIG. 2, the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a and the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b are extensions of the same rare earth silicate coating 28, but for their respective positioning to surround the sacrificial coating 30 at the blade tip 19. As shown, the separation points 29 serve to split the rare earth silicate coating 28 into the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a and the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b positioned about the sacrificial coating 30. In this embodiment, the sacrificial coating 30 is completely encased within the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a and the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b in order to form a hermetic seal against high temperature steam. Additionally, the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b may provide additional mechanical stability for the underlying sacrificial coating 30 (e.g., formed from a BSAS-reinforced YbYDS layer).

Both the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a and the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b can be formed via slurry deposition. In one embodiment, the first first rare earth silicate coating 28 a is deposited, followed by tape-deposition of the sacrificial coating 30 in the location desired. Then, the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b can be deposited (e.g., via slurry deposition) onto the sacrificial coating 30 and the exposed first rare earth silicate coating 28 a. Where there is no sacrificial coating 30 present (e.g., on the leading edge, the blade surface, the trailing edge, etc.), the second rare earth silicate coating 28 b is merged with the first rare earth silicate coating 28 a in order to form a single layer of the rare earth silicate coating 28.

Finally, an outer layer is positioned on the second rare earth silicate coating. In one embodiment, the outer layer comprises at least one slurry-deposited yttrium monosilicate (YMS) layer. The outer layer provides protection against steam recession and molten dust. Materials other than rare earth silicates can be utilized within the outer coating, such as rare earth hafnates, rare earth zirconates, rare earth gallates (e.g., monoclinic type, such as Ln₄Ga₂O₉), rare earth monotitanate (e.g., Ln₂TiO₅), rare earth cerate (e.g., Ln₂CeO₅), rare earth germinate (e.g., Ln₂GeO₅), or mixtures thereof. However, all of these materials have a relatively high coeffiecient of thermal expansion (CTE) compared to rare earth silicate. Thus, rare earth monosilicate is preferred. Hafnia, rare-earth stabilized hafnia, and rare-earth stabilized zirconia provide protection against steam recession but not CMAS, and also have higher CTE than rare earth monosilicate.

In addition to a thick coating on the blade tip 19, the EBC 20 can be used as an alternate method to obtain a thick EBC coating on other components or areas of a CMC component (e.g., on a shroud, etc.).

While the invention has been described in terms of one or more particular embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the use of “comprising” in conjunction with the coating compositions described herein specifically discloses and includes the embodiments wherein the coating compositions “consist essentially of” the named components (i.e., contain the named components and no other components that significantly adversely affect the basic and novel features disclosed), and embodiments wherein the coating compositions “consist of” the named components (i.e., contain only the named components except for contaminants which are naturally and inevitably present in each of the named components).

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. 

What is claimed:
 1. A method of tape deposition of a sacrificial coating on a CMC substrate having a first rare earth silicate coating thereon, the method comprising: applying a matrix material onto a portion of the first rare earth silicate coating, wherein the matrix material comprises a mixture of a rare earth silicate powder, a sintering aid, and a solvent; drying the matrix material to remove the solvent; transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the CMC substrate to form the sacrificial coating, and forming a second rare earth silicate coating on the CMC substrate and the sacrificial coating, wherein the first rare earth silicate coating and the second rare earth silicate coating are merged where the sacrificial coating is not present to encase the sacrificial coating within the first rare earth silicate coating and the second rare earth silicate coating.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the matrix material further comprises a plurality of particles, and wherein the particles comprise BSAS particles, silicon particles, or a mixture thereof.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the particles have an average particle size of about 5 microns to about 100 microns.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the particles comprise about 30% to about 65% by volume of the matrix material after drying, with the balance being the rare earth silicate powder and the sintering aid.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the matrix material further comprises an organic binder and a plasticizer.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the organic binder comprises polyvinyl butyral.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the plasticizer comprises dibutyl phthalate or dipropylene glycol dibenzoate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the CMC substrate is an airfoil having a blade tip.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the CMC substrate comprises transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the blade tip of the airfoil.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the tip includes a first rare earth silicate coating on a bond coat, wherein the first rare earth silicate coating comprises at least one rare earth silicate layer, and wherein the dried matrix material is applied onto the first rare earth silicate to form the sacrificial coating.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the sacrificial coating has a thickness of about 8 mils to about 25 mils.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the sacrificial coating has a thickness of about 16 mils to about 24 mils.
 13. A method of tape deposition of a sacrificial coating on a CMC substrate, wherein the CMC substrate is an airfoil having a blade tip, the method comprising: applying a matrix material onto a surface of a film, wherein the matrix material comprises a mixture of a rare earth silicate powder, a sintering aid, and a solvent; drying the matrix material to remove the solvent; and transferring the dried matrix material from the film to the blade tip of the airfoil, wherein the tip includes a first rare earth silicate coating on a bond coat, wherein the first rare earth silicate coating comprises at least one rare earth silicate layer, and wherein the dried matrix material is applied onto the first rare earth silicate to form the sacrificial coating; forming a second rare earth silicate coating on the sacrificial coating where the sacrificial coating is present at the blade tip and on the first rare earth silicate coating where the sacrificial coating is not present, wherein the second rare earth silicate coating comprises at least one rare earth silicate layer, and wherein the first rare earth silicate coating and the second rare earth silicate coating are merged where the sacrificial coating is not present to surround the sacrificial coating at the blade tip such that the sacrificial coating is completely encased within the first rare earth silicate coating and the second rare earth silicate coating at the blade tip.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: forming an outer layer on the second rare earth silicate coating.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the matrix material further comprises a plurality of particles, and wherein the particles comprise BSAS particles, silicon particles, or a mixture thereof.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the particles have an average particle size of about 5 microns to about 100 microns.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the particles comprise about 30% to about 65% by volume of the matrix material after drying, with the balance being the rare earth silicate powder and the sintering aid.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the matrix material further comprises an organic binder and a plasticizer.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the sacrificial coating has a thickness of about 8 mils to about 25 mils.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the sacrificial coating has a thickness of about 16 mils to about 24 mils. 